Bearzerk

I had the absolute pleasure of playing Bearzerk prior to release and doing some great testing alongside the sole developer. A few of the many things I enjoyed about this game; - The aesthetic; absolutely beautiful atmosphere and great characters you unlock along the way! - The gameplay loop is fun, it doesn't get boring, and the higher difficulties are HARD man, looking at you pandemonium 4.. - The pet unlocks are super neat, I can't wait to see what else we can unlock for our characters! DadBod done fantastic considering this is the first game they produced and I am excited to see what else comes their way! Massive W for them, keep up the great work!

Game Review Outline: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Bearzerk Version: Early Access Platforms tested on: PC & LCD Steam Deck & Oled Steam Deck Introduction To describe this game is sorta like describing a childhood meal you made from memory, almost right, but missing something. The Good Audio - Soundtrack very clearly had some thought put into it, nice rock metal, a little jarring given the topic (stuffed bears fighting nightmares) but still. Premise - There’s no narrative to speak of, but you don’t really want one in this kind of game. But the stuff teddy bear idea is great and a good take on the genre. Difficulty - This one doesn’t hold your hand through wave 1-10, it has a good spike to make you actually plan movements before wave 11 just stomps you, as in a lot of other survivors. The Bad Incredibly shallow upgrade system, synergies are boring if there. Wasted potential on the idea of stuffed animals, I understand the name is BEARzerker, but where are the other animals, that could have unique abilities, reskins of the same character model, if done right, can be fine, but in this is strikes as lazy and not setting the game apart. Weapon animations, if we are going to take inspiration from Brotato with the weapon system, why half bake it. Put the weapons in the bears hands. Floating weapons never feel good. The Ugly I only have one deal-breaking issue. Hitbox and player feedback - it’s almost non-existent, you can barely tell when you’ve taken damage. The iframes disappear faster than my dad after my birth, and the enemies show no damage until dead. The premise of it being stuffed animals but none of the animals (including the player) rip or show damage when losing HP. No HP bars under enemies either. Conclusion Final thoughts - Nothing in this game is a “DO NOT BUY” issue, and all of it can be patched/retooled. This is the dev’s first attempt at a game, and its a solid attempt that isn’t abandonware, I’ll play it again in some off time or when bored at work and some updates hit it. Recommendation level: I’d say Buy it, but don’t expect the world for your $5. It’s very reasonably priced. Score (Optional) 6 out of 10 for score. I’ll give it a rating of Try

First off, the art is AMAZING. Seriously, I don't enjoy the gameplay, but at least I get to look at the gorgeous cartoons while not having a lot of fun. I play a lot of these survivorslikes/bullet heaven/horde survival games, so my opinions might be a bit harsher than a casual gamer. But this one is not great. The basic gameplay doesn't stray far from the traditional run around, auto-firing of the genre. The map is entirely empty, so there are no goals to head toward, and nothing to make the rounds interesting or provide cover. And the tired mechanic of having to pick up xp from kills to collect it is in play, so you just keep running around the horde in a big circle, trying to get the xp they're mostly covering. What worked in Vampire Survivors five years ago does not hold up on it's own anymore without some kind of twist, and this doesn't have any. Probably the biggest problem with the game, though, is the economy. My last run I went into the first shop with 6 bucks to my name. The cheapest item was over 20. For the first five or so shops I was offered a purple level item that cost like 144 dollars, and I was never holding more than 30. You can only choose 1 option from the two sides of the shop, and duplicate items would show up. Really frustrating. What I like about these games is putting together crazy builds. Not being able to even buy an upgrade for levels at a time completely kills the fun. Very disappointing. But the art is fantastic.

The music is so incredibly annoying it gives me headaches So if you are deaf or into some boomer headbanger metal then you might like it

[h1] Mini Review #001 - Bearzerk [/h1] Solid survivor / brotato-like game with some unique ideas. It definitely needs some work and optimization to be as good as brotato or even better but for a fresh early access game developed by a solo dev its a pretty good start. [h3]Rating: 7,5/10[/h3]

A bear-y cute roguelike, that still needs some polishing.

Honestly in the current state it's pretty hard. regardless of what weapons and items i pick i can't get past wave 6. the movement feels weird moving up and down to side to side. players hit box is pretty big and you take damage really easy. needs work hopefully this gets looked at, fixed, changed or balanced! great game concept but cant recommend in current state. Edit: movement and hit boxes feel much better! Can say now that the game feels much better to play! Thanks and props to the dev for communication and working quickly to look at and adjust things! I would recommend it at this point and you can't beat the price either

If you've ever thought, “What if a cuddly plush bear could go absolutely feral with a bunch of wild weapons?”—well, Bearzerk is here to answer that in the most ridiculous and entertaining way possible. This chaotic little auto-shooter smashes together cute visuals and nonstop action, and once you start playing, it’s way too easy to lose track of time. The gameplay loop is simple but super satisfying: pick your stuffed hero, grab a ridiculous weapon, and dive into pure mayhem. There are 20 waves to survive. Expect a mess of bullets, explosions, and absolute nonsense—in the best possible way. What really makes Bearzerk stand out is how much it leans into the chaos. It’s not just about staying alive—it’s about making everything around you explode in the most over-the-top ways. The screen will regularly be filled with fire, bombs, enemies, and who knows what else, but it never feels out of control. It’s just... beautiful chaos.. In short, Bearzerk is a blast. It’s silly, stylish, and dangerously addictive. If you’re into action games with personality, or if you just want to watch a bunch of stuffed animals go absolutely berserk, this game is totally worth your time. Just be warned—you’ll probably play way longer than you meant to.

Apparently, cosy bullet hells are a thing and I am loving my new niche!

Its fun. Its got a fantastic sound track (so far). Its extremely challenging but is in the same vain as Halls of Torment and Brotato. 9/10 game.